Wolfenstein: The New Order marks the return of one of the oldest first-person shooter franchises and puts player in the role of Polish-American soldier William "B.J." Blazkowicz. The game begins in 1946 with Blazkowicz chasing down his arch-enemy General Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse, but his plans backfire and he is mortally wounded. He is rescued by a Polish fishing vessel and taken to an asylum in Poland where 14 years pass as he is cared for by a nurse named Anya. When he finally awakens and saves Anya from the Nazi purge of the asylum, he soon learns that the war has ended and the Nazis won, thus placing the entire world under their rule. Deathshead was instrumental to this victory as he designed vicious bio-mechanical beasts and massive robots to gain superiority in the battlefield.
The game is a fast-paced and violent first-person shooter with some minor stealth and exploration elements. Players can hold several weapons at a time and said weapons can even be dual wielded. The weapons range from traditional to more exotic gear, and players are given a useful tool called the Laser Cutter, which allows them to cut through chains and fences to access alternate paths and secret items and areas.
Players fight plenty of Nazi soldiers of varying strength, including those wearing power armour and those that blend flesh with technology. There are also bigger fully robotic dogs that are extremely fast and dangerous. Players have the option of taking a stealthy route and killing enemies silently with silenced weapons and knives, or can be used for brutal backstabbing takedowns.
The game features a perk tree, which will level up based on certain challenges in the game such as killing 10 enemies silently with throwing knives to earn extra knife slots. There are also secrets to be collected, including items that can give you a full map of the area, notes and letters that provide backstory, Enigma Codes which unlock special game modes, and Nazi gold and treasure.